Six years between blogs . . . .

Its been a very long time since I've blogged dear reader (if I have any apart from myself).

Time has marched on, and a new tool has entered the genealogy field. I say new - as it has been around for a while, and is only "new" to my blog.

DNA testing has created a huge learning curve and also an awesome opportunity to find out new information about your family. It is helping people validate their paper/traditional research. It is bringing up surprises as well as shocks for many.

The type of DNA testing most effective for finding family, is the autosomal test - or atDNA. Most DNA companies do this test. Other tests include the mitochondrial (mtDNA) or the YDNA. YDNA is effective for deep testing along the male line (DNA inherited and passed solely from father to son). mtDNA is from the X chromosome and can be inherited only from the mother - but both son and daughter receive a copy.

The test myself, my father and mother and my cousin have had done, is the atDNA through Ancestry. No shocks or surprises as yet, but it has yielded some measure of success already, in that I have successfully discovered a first cousin for my Scottish mother. A younger cousin lost to the mists of time and memory, from when my mother moved from Aberdeen to Edinburgh. Its nice as they are in correspondence via email now, and swapping family stories and memories.

I also found a second cousin from my father's Newfoundland line who has happily shared family photos. I do have some family mysteries to solve . . .

I've also been assisting customers at work, who don't know what to do when they get their tests results back, explaining how it all works, and generally just getting them started.

So far this has been me dipping my toes in - and learning as I go. And watching YouTube videos and reading . . .

Happy hunting